Railway-rail cleaner and oiler.



PATENTED MAY 30, 1905.

. G. HUPF. RAILWAY RAIL CLEANER AND OILER.

APPL IOATION FILED SEPT. 26, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SKEBT 1.

PATENTED MAY 30, 19o5. G. HUFF.

. RAILWAY RAIL CLEANER AND OILER.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT 26 1904 4 SITE Rm 0 9 1 0 3 Y A M D E T N E T A PG; HUFF.

RAILWAY RAIL CLEANER AND OILER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Q MAM HPATENTED MAY 30, 1905.

G; HUFF.

RAILWAY RAIL CLEANER AND OILER.

APPLIOATIONVIILED SEPT. 2 e, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Patented May 30, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE HUFF, OF TROPIGO. CALIFORNIA.

RAILWAY-RAIL CLEANER AND OILER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 791,150, dated May 30,1905.

Application filed September 26, 1904. Serial No 225,888. 7

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, GEORGE HUFF, a citizen of the United States,residing at Tropico, in the" county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Railway-Rail Cleaner andOiler, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for cleaning and oilingstreet-railway rails and cleaning and oiling the curves thereof, saidapparatus being mounted on a car or truck adapted to travel on therailway-track.

The apparatus comprises rotary brushes for sweeping and cleaning therails; and an important object of the invention is to enable saidbrushes to be driven directly from an axle of the car.

Another object of the invention is to provide for adjustment of thebrushes as required by variation in the work and for moving the brushesto bring them into or out of operative position, as required.

Another object of the invention is to provide a plow means to clean therail of any overlying dirt or obstructions.

A further object of the inventionis to provide means for scraping thetrack-rail, said means being preferably in advance of the brush meansaforesaid. This is of great importance, as it removes any insulatingmatter on the rail and insures perfect contact, with consequent savingof electric power.

Another object of the invention is to provide for cleaning the rail-grooves at the curves of the railway; and to this end the inventioncomprises means which are normally out of operative position, but can bebrought into position to clean or gouge the grooves which are providedat curves.

Another ob ect of the invention is to pro- .vide, in connection withsaid cleaning devices,

means for applyingv oil to the guard-rails of the curves.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a partly-broken plan of a part'of a car body and truckprovided with my invention. Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail plan of a slidingcarriage for supporting and laterally shifting Fig. 2 is a section online 0'0 00 of A the brushes. Fig. 4 is a section on the line a m inFig. 2. Fig. 5 isa detail section on the line w? in Fig. 1. Figs. 6 and7 are detail side elevations on opposite sides of a cam means foroperating the plow or scraper and gouge. Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic planof the car, showing particularly the arrangement of the oiling device.Fig. 9 is a somewhat diagrammatic section of the car, showing the oilingdevices, the cleaning devices being mostly omitted.

The working parts of the apparatus are carried on a suitable truck orcar adapted to run on the track. 1 designates the body of said car, and2 the truck-wheels thereof, having axles 3 and truck-frames 4:. Therotary brushes 5 are driven from one of the car-axles and are supportedin such manner as to be movable both vertically and laterally, ashereinafter set forth. 6 designates a brush-carrying frame, which isprovided at one end with arms 7 pivoted at 8 to a bracket 9, journaledon one of the axles 3, said bracket having attached thereto boxes 10 tosupport it on the axles,

while allowing rotation of the axles therein. Shaft ll of brush 5 isrotatably mounted in the outer or free end of the frame 6 and carries asprocket-wheel 12 and a sprocket-wheel 13, journaled at the inner end offrame 6 on a shaft 14, carrying a gear 15, which engages a larger gear16, fast on shaft 3 aforesaid, the pitch-line of gear 16 beingpreferably in the plane of the pivots 8, so that the swinging of theframe 6 will not interfere with the oper-, ation of the gears. The teethon gear 15 may be convex and those on gear 16 concave to insure properengagement in different annular positions. The connection between thetwo sprocket-wheels 12 and 13 may be by means of a sprocket-chain 17running over the wheel 13' and over the sprocket-wheel l8, journaled inthe frame 6 and connected rigidly to a sprocket-wheel 19, which in turnis connected to the sprocket-wheel 12 by a chain 20. It will be seenthat the movements thus imparted to the rotary brush 5 will be in aforward direction, so that it will throw the dirt forward or in thedirection of movement of the car. To adjustably support the brush at theproper height and enable it to be lifted out of operative position whendesired, a bracket 21 is provided, suitably supported on the car-body,as hereinafter set forth, and carrying a screw post or standard 22,which is rotatably mounted in said bracket and is provided with a screwportion 23, engaging in a screw-block 24, having slots or openings 25 toreceive arms 26, extending upwardly and forwardly from the frame 6, saidslots being so formed as to enable the arms to move freely therein in alongitudinal direction and to tilt at different angles as the frame 6 islowered or raised. Said lowering or raising is effected by turningscrew-post 22, as by means of a hand-wheel 27 at the top thereof, andwhen the rotary brush has thus been adjusted to the proper height it maybe held in that position by means of a suitable locking device-forexample, rod 28, mounted to slide on post 22 and having an operatingfinger-piece 29 connected thereto, said rod 28 engaging at its lower endin holes or recesses 30 in a stopplate 31, connected to the bracket 21aforesaid. Said bracket 21 has a depending U- shaped strap 32, whichextends below the screw-block 24 and provides a bearing for the lowerend of the screw-post 22.

A rotary brush 5, operated and driven as above described, is provided ateach side of the car, so that said brushes can be driven and operatedindependently. It is desirable, however, to provide means whereby thetwo brushes at the two sides of the car may be simultaneously moved'in alateral direction to enable them to be maintained on the track when theear swerves in taking a curve.

Arms 26 are desirably curved, as shown, substantially concentric withthe center of the brush support or carriage, so that as the car turns acurve the movement of arms 26 through the blocks 24 will maintain thebrushes at the same distance from one another and keep them on the railsregardless of the degree of curvature. It is also desirable to providefor relative lateral adjustment of the brushes to enable them to workequally well whether on straight tracks or on curves, as hereinafterdescribed. For this purpose the supportingbrackets 21, above referredto, are mounted to move laterally on a suitable support which may beconnected to the car-body and may consist of bars 34, carried by hangers35 on the car-body and forming the track or rail on which the bracketsmay slide, said brackets having arms 36, provided with eyes 37 slidablyengaging said bars 34.

The brackets 21 are connected by suitable connecting and operating meansso that the brackets conjointly form a carriage for the two brushes, andsaid connecting means is preferably extensible, consisting, for example,of two parallel bars 38 39, connected to slide on one another, as bypinand-slot connections 40, bar 38 having an upwardly-extending bracketor arm 41, to which is pivoted a hand-lever 42, which is pivotallyeonnected at its lower end to the bar 39, so that the operation of saidlever will cause relative lateral movement of said bars. Said handlevermay be provided with means for locking it in different positions--as,for example, a spring-catch 43 on the lever, engaging in a notchedsegment 44 on the bar 39. By operation of this lever the bars 38 39 maybe slid on one another, so as to separate the brushes more widely orbring them more closely together, as may be found necessary in going ona straight track or in rounding a curve.

To cause simultaneous lateral operation of the brushes in order tocompensate for the swerve in rounding a curve, a hand-wheel 46 isprovided on a standard or post 47, mounted 011 the car-body and providedwith a pinion 48, engaging with a rack 49 on the connecting-bar 39, sothat the movement of the said hand-wheel in one direction or anotherwill cause movement of the brushes to one side or the other. 50designates a lock for the gear 48, said lock being operated by theattendants foot in the usual manner of a lock for hand-brakes.

The connecting and operating bars 38 39 may be above the level of thecar-floor and provided at each end with downwzu'dly-cxtending portions51, which are secured to the brackets 21, the latter, as well as thetrack 34 therefor, being below the car-floor.

53 designates a plow and scraper for removing dirt or obstructions fromthe rail and cleaning the rail in advance of the action of the brush,there being preferably four of such plows or scrapers, two on each side,so that there will be a plow or scraper acting in advance of the brushin either direction of movement. Said scrapers are desirably supportedon the respective truck-frames, each truckframe having extensions 54, towhich is rigidly connected a post or bar 55, which serves to supportsaid scraper, the scraper having a shank 56, sliding in straps or guides57 on said bar. The plow has side wings or shares 61 for throwing dirt,&c., to either side, and the point or end of the plow is adapted toengage the rail to scrape off adhering matter. Each scraper is providedwith operating means whereby it may be lifted free of the trackrail ormay be brought down upon the rail to scrape or clean the same. For thispurpose an operating shaft or post 58, provided with handwheel 59, isjournaled in a bracket 60, extending from the truck-frame extension 54,and in a bearing-block 62, fast on bar 55, said shaft carrying acam-cylinder 63, having a groove 64 to receive a pin 65 on the shank 56of the scraper, said groove or a portion thereof being inclined to theaxis of the cylinder, so that in rotation of the lever the groove willcause the pin and scraper to move longitudinally of the cylinder. All ofthe aforesaid parts are set at a pitch or forward inclination relativeto the track in such manner that the longitudinal movement aforesaidwill cause the scraper to descend-to the track-rail or to risetherefrom.

The means for gouging or cleaning the grooves of the rails at curvescomprises a gouge 69, formed at the lower end of a bar 68, said barhaving a pin or stud 71 engaging in the cam-groove 70 of the cylinder 63aforesaid, said groove or a portion thereof being inclined to the axisof the cylinder, so as to raise or lower the gouge on rotation of thecylinder by means of the hand-wheel 59. The inclination of the groove 7Ois preferably reverse to that of groove 64, so that the gouge andscraper will be lowered by reverse movements of the cylinder andhand-wheel, and each of said grooves is desirably provided withextensions 73 74, extending circumferentially around the cylinder in adirection which has no component longitudinal of the cylinder, so thatas the cylinder is turned in one direction, thereby causing the groove70 to depress the gouge, the pin on the scrapershank will travel aroundin the extension 73 of groove 74 and the scraper will be maintained inits uppermost positiomwhile in the reverse movement of the cylinder,wherein the scraper is depressed by the groove 64:,the

pin 71 on the gouge-bar will travel around in the extension 74: on thegroove and the gouge will be maintained in an uppermost position free ofthe track. In the intermediate position both the gouge and scraperwillbe lifted free of the track, the operating-pins thereof being betweenthe grooves 64 and 70 and the respective extensions 7 3 74 thereof.

75 designates a roller near the lower end of gouge-bar 68 to roll on thetracks and pre: vent the gouge from being lowered too'far.

In conjunction with the above-described cleaning devices oiling meansare preferably supplied particularly designed to oil the grooves of thetracks at curves, said oiling means acting subsequent to the action ofthe gouge devices above described. For this pur pose an oil-nozzle 77 isslidably supported in straps or bearings 78 on each bar 55, so as to bemovable up and down and toward and from the track-rail, the lower end ofsaid nozzle being directly behind the gouge, a spring 79 engaging withone of said bearings, with a collar 80 on said nozzle, and tendingtolift the nozzle normally away from the track. The means for depressingsaid nozzle may consist of a treadle 82, suitably located within thecanon a bell-crank 83, said bell-crank having an arm 84:, connected by atie-rod 85 with a rock-shaft lever 86, one arm of which engages aprojection or collar 87 on the nozzle 7 7 and depresses the same ondepression of the treadle.

The oil-supply connections (shown more particularly in Figs. 8 and 9)comprise distribut- 65 ing-pipes 89, leading from the pressure-tank 90,which is supplied by a pump 91 from the oil-tank 92, said pump being ofany suitable character, being preferably driven by one of the car-axles3, as by means of a gear 94 on said axle engaging a, pinion 95, theshaft 96 of which is connected to operate the pump in raised. 7 g

103 designates a seat for the operator, which is removably supported insockets, one of which is shown at 104:, so as to enable the operator tosit facing forward, with the handwheels 27 46 in convenient position foroperation irrespective of the direction of movement of the car.

Windows or apertures 105 are preferably provided in the floor of the carto enable the operator to observe the position and operation of thevarious cleaning and oiling devices aforesaid, these apertures beingpreferably closed by sashes 106, which may be provided with glass panes107 and protecting screens or gratings 108 on both faces.

What I claim is 1. In combination with a car, a rotary brush- Ihorizontal adjustment of the brushes.

means for independent vertical adjustment of the brushes.

4. In combination with a car, a plurality of horizontally and verticallymovable brushes thereon, means for relative horizontal adjustment of thebrushes, means for simultaneous horizontal adjustment of the brushes,and

means for vertical adjustment of the brushes.

5.- An apparatus for cleaning track-rails 6. An apparatus for cleaningtrack-rails comprising a car, two brushes connected tobe driven from acar-axle, and an extensible connection between said brushes to adjusttheir distance apart.

7. An apparatus for cleaning track-rails comprising a car, two brushesconnected to be driven from an axle of the car, a frame mounted on thecar to slide transversely thereto, and means on said frame to supportsaid rotary brushes.

8. The combination with a car and an axle thereof, of a frame journaledon said axle, a brush-carrying frame swiveled to the aforesaid frame, arotary brush journaled in said brush-carrying frame, driving connectionsbetween said rotary brush and the axle, a carriage movable transverselyon the car, and means vertically adjustable on said carriage andconnected to the brush-carrying frame to operate the same in a verticaldirection.

9. The combination with a car and axle thereof, of a frame mounted onsaid axle and swinging in vertical and horizontal directions, rotarybrushes journaled on said frame and connected to be driven by an axle, acarriage movable laterally on the car, brackets on said carriage,manually-operated means for adjusting the lateral distance of saidbrackets, manually-operated means for moving the carriage laterally ofthe car, means supported by and moving with the brackets in a horizontaldirection and engaging with the brush-carrying frame, andmanually-operatedmeans connected to said supports to raise and lower thesame independently.

10. The combination with a car and an axle thereof, of brush-supportingframes journaled on said axle, and pivotally mounted to swinghorizontally, brushes journaled in said frames, a support carried by thecar, the frames havingarms slidably engaging in said support and saidarms being curved to maintain the brushes at the same distance inrounding a curve.

11. A car having a track-cleaning device adjacent to a track-rail, said.car provided with a window in its floor for inspection of said device.

12. A car having a track-cleaning device adjacent to a track-rail, saidcar provided with a window in its floor for inspection of said deviceand a screen above and below said win dow.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, at Los Angeles,California, this 12th day of September, 1904.

' GEORGE HUFF. In presence of A. P. KNIGHT, TILLIE E. ADAM.

